Hitman has always been a game with a lot of morality issues attached to it. Agent 47 has no conscience, no thought for his victim; his only thought is for the job. This makes him the perfect assassin. You question at times how you can play such a blatantly cruel game. It is sad, but you conclude that it's simply because it's a lot of fun! This series takes you inside the mind of an assassin and allows you to see and act as they do.

Hitman: Blood Money is the fourth game of the series and Agent 47 finds that some members of The ICA (The Contract Agency) are being 'whacked'. He suspects that a much larger body is behind this and he also fears that he may be the next target. Because of this, he travels to America, where his clients will pay in cash. But is someone already on his trail? Agent 47 must find out who is behind the assassinations, before it's too late.

Those of you who may fret at the claims of a complete overhaul by developer IO Interactive need not worry; every change is an improvement. From dealing with the awkward camera to simply improving on the plot of the game, Blood Money feels like a lot of hard work has gone into it - and boy has it paid off! All the familiar elements are still present, including first and third person perspectives, and of course the ability to strip enemies of their clothes and impersonate them. These include a hilarious clown costume that must be seen to be believed. The weapons are all still here too, including the familiar garrotes, handguns, sniper rifles and also a variety of household items such as hammers and shovels that seem to come in handy when the need arises.

The game looks superb. At times, watching the cut scenes, you could be forgiven for thinking you were watching a theatrical animation. The attention to detail in character movement makes it so that you want to watch them and not just click forward to the next level. Watching the trailer that accompanies the game also gives it a wonderful cinematic quality of the standard that you would expect from a Francis Ford Coppola movie. At times, you feel that Blood Money would be the perfect title for Hollywood to pick up, although after Tomb Raider and Doom I hope they don't. (Having just viewed IMDB.com, I fear that a film may be in production with Vin Diesel in the lead role. Dear God!) [I also quake in fear, while I am a fan of Diesel's work, he is far too butch and looks totally wrong for the role. Ed] The voice acting and dialogue is also impressive throughout the game; thankfully they do not just go through the 'Idiots Guide to Gangster-Talk' and have instead gone to great lengths to make the script and acting as original and entertaining as possible.

You could be pedantic and say that there is very little difference between the look of this and 2004's Hitman: Contracts, but I do not think we could ever use this as a negative when the end result looks so good. Little touches throughout the game, such as pigeons flying off as you approach is only a little thing, but it adds nice little splashes of realism to the atmosphere and feel of the game. The texture of the levels and characters is simply amazing, too. One of the few problems with the game is with the use of lighting. Though wonderful for the cut-scenes, during the game it never quite seems to get the right balance. Indoors (realistic or not) the lighting can be so dark that at times you are unsure whether you are walking along a dark corridor or just butting against a wall. This also affects the night levels, as you notice yourself moving closer and closer to the TV screen to try and make out what it is you are doing. This does not spoil the enjoyment, but leads to a little frustration.

When you start to play, the first thing you are struck by is the immense levels - each one is huge. These levels take you to various locations in the United States, everywhere from Washington to Las Vegas. All are beautifully designed and created; the Washington level includes a wonderful reconstruction of The White House. I'm not sure how accurate the insides are, but it is visually stunning and totally convincing. At first the overwhelming size of the levels makes navigating them a little awkward, until you realise that you can do certain things in certain a certain order, and so you can try completing the level in different ways.

An early example is the mission 'A Vintage Year' that takes you to the vineyard of a drug baron. You can enter in a number of ways, each with its own perils. By taking the long way around, you can avoid most of the guards and try to take them out one at a time, but one false move or misjudgment can end it all. You can go in guns blazing and see how far you can get before you either get to a safe place or die. Or you can sneak up on one of the guards outside the vineyard, knock them out and steal their uniform. Each way has its advantages and disadvantages and this is a familiar theme throughout every level, encouraging repeated play to discover even sneakier, stealthier ways of taking out a target, or just to blow off steam by mowing down all those guards that you had to sneak past in the previous play!

Using the stealthier methods of assassination brings down your kill rate and thereby increases the amount of money you collect. This money helps by allowing you to upgrade your weapons and even sometimes to bribe characters in the game for information. The money you earn is based on how well you do during the level. An interesting note is that if you leave dead bodies you will be charged a 'clean-up' fee by the Agency. However, thankfully, levels are now littered with places to stick a dead body, which makes this a little easier.

As with many stealth games, Blood Money is a puzzler dressed up as shooter. You must complete a certain number of tasks to progress through the level, until you acquire your target. It is a simple and easy concept, and because of this the gameplay is perfectly pitched. The controls are easy to pick up and they're much smoother than before; I cannot remember the last time that I could honestly say you can pick up and start playing immediately. Not only that, but the enjoyment is instant too! However, that's not to say that this is an easy game - far from it; due to the vastness of the levels, it is often difficult to locate certain areas, which isn't helped by the awkward map, although this is easily overcome and doesn't spoil the experience. The four skill levels available affect mainly how easy it is to kill your opponents and how easy it is for your actions to be detected and affect your Notoriety Level. Once a level is completed, you are treated to a stylish newspaper report that gives you an idea of how well you did. If you do not clear up your mess or kill too many bystanders, you may find yourself branded a 'rampaging lunatic' and this affects your Notoriety Level. This is an odd feature, but it does give the game more replayability, as you try to finish a level without leaving behind clues such as witnesses, CCTV footage and bloodstains. However, bribery can easily solve this.

Those who have played the previous three games will be dismayed that one element that feels lost is the 'Silent Assassin' aspect. Agent 47 is supposed to be almost clinical in his approach to a kill, ideally leaving no trace at the scene. However, some levels require the use of bombs and this is hardly the best weapon of choice for a Silent Assassin. However, there are still many elements of pure stealth in the game and the ability to strangle victims from above is a wonderful, if slightly sick, new element. At times you are presented with a '24-style' split-screen, to make you aware of another character's actions or movements. This adds a great visual dynamic to the game and is also useful for the gameplay, far more than just pleasing eye-candy.

Once engaged in a fight, the AI of the other characters is excellent. This makes the game a lot more difficult than previous outings, but this is to be expected and prolongs the longevity. At times you do wonder as you shoot a character in the head why they don't do the same; but then that would probably lead to a more frustrating and ultimately unplayable experience. Unfortunately, sometimes the targeting system can be a little off and this means that you can waste three or four bullets on a single kill. This also doesn't help if you are surrounded and need to take out many enemies quickly. The sniper aim is also a little unresponsive at times, and it can take a while before you master it. You can kill in a variety of ways too; sometimes you can cover your tracks by making kills seem like accidents, and you are supplied with poisons and drugs to help you achieve this. In some levels you are able to creep up on the intended victim, drug them and then simply throw them out of a window. The variety of weapons on offer, as well as the many methods for killing your contracts, means that the number of ways you can kill people never ends.

Hitman: Blood Money is a hugely enjoyable experience. It's a vast improvement on the previous games and sets a high benchmark for other stealth-puzzle-shooter-epics. Epic is probably the best word to describe this game; it's an epic experience from beginning to end, filled with dark humour, lots of action and most importantly the perfect blend of engrossing story and engaging gameplay. Throw in some sumptuous visuals and atmospheric sounds and you've got one of the best games of 2006 so far - it really would be criminal not to play it!

Reviewed by David Simpson for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).